The Mind of Madness
by CNathanGunn
Summary: A tale of Gothic mystery and terror for the 4th Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. Takes place after the classic series episode "The Pyramids of Mars".
1. Chapter 1

Title: The Mind of Madness  
Characters/Pairing: 4th Doctor / Sarah  
Rating: PG for scary elements  
Spoilers: none  
Author: Cnathangunn dot com

It was a dark and stormy night as the TARDIS groaned to a landing on an isolated country road. Brief flashes of lightning illuminated a sinister looking mansion standing sentry and silent on a near by hilltop. The light cast from the opening TARDIS door sliced through the darkness like a razor blade.

"Rain," said Sarah from inside the TARDIS, "what sort of sea side holiday are we supposed to be on?"

"Hardly any at all," said The Doctor standing in the doorway, "seeing as how the sea side has failed to turn up."

"You goofed," Sarah said, "so then where are we?"

"Just a bit inland I gather," The Doctor said, "perhaps the late 1920's judging by the look of that Gothic revival mansion and the car on the front drive. Let's go and see if anyone is home, shall we? Hm? Perhaps they will offer us a nice, warm cup of tea."

"Oh, I do hope so," said Sarah returning to the doorway with an umbrella, "that's be just the thing I need."

The pair worked their way up the long winding drive way while huddling under what little shelter the umbrella could afford them in the driving wind and rain. The mansion loomed before them like a monolith, dark and unmovable.

"Well perhaps no one is at home and we should head back," Sarah said, eying the dark facade.

"Nonsense, I'm sure someone is about," The Doctor said taking hold of the large metal knocker on the front door. He replaced it to it's previous position, which sent out a loud hollow sound from somewhere deep inside the mansion. There came no response.

"Perhaps I'll try again," The Doctor said repeating the motion.

Suddenly there appeared a slight flicker moving about behind the windows. After what seemed like an eternity, the front door opened slowly with a groan as if it were a great stone slab covering the entrance to a tomb. A skeleton figure of a man in a tuxedo was holding a candle within the doorway.

"Ah, good evening, I thought perhaps we may use your phone? Our car has only just broken down a little ways up the road," The Doctor said with a toothy smile.

"Oh that is so cliche," Sarah said under her breath as she rolled her eyes.

"Are," the man asked "you the doctor?"

"Yes, I am The Doctor!" The Doctor said in surprise, "I didn't know I was expected!"

"You didn't know you were expected?" the man asked bewildered, "you were sent for."

"I was?" asked The Doctor, "ah I see! I was just telling my assistant here that this must indeed be the correct house as it's the only one for kilometers around and since I am The Doctor, there must be a patient that needs attending to, hm?"

"Yes," said the man as he moved away from the doorway, "Mr. Candage is quite anxious to see you."

The Doctor and Sarah followed the man into the musty foyer of the house.

"The power has gone out," he said, "as you can see."

Presently the group came to stand in front of a doorway in the hall as the man withdrew a key from his pocket.

"You may wait in the drawing room for Mr. Candage," he said opening the heavy door. Pocketing the key he walked into the room, lit a lamp on the table, quickly exited and then shut the door.

The Doctor and Sarah were taking in their surroundings when they heard the key turn in the lock. Sarah ran to the door and tried the handle.

"Locked!" she said.

"Oh I'm sure we won't be here very long, we were sent for after all," The Doctor said as he glanced over the contents of a bookcase.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and there will be a secret passage," Sarah said joining him.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ebenezer!" whispered the voice, drifting from out of the depths of the foundations of the house itself, "Ebenezer!"

"No!" creaked Ebenezer Osgood who huddled and shook from beneath the bed clothes.

"Ebenezer!" whispered the voice again, "join me, Ebenezer!"

"No! No!" shrieked Ebenezer who shook so violently he threatened to explode the bed into pieces.

Suddenly the door to the room burst open and a tall, well dressed man rushed to the bedside.

"You must calm down!" said the man attempting to hold Ebenezer to the bed, "you'll injure yourself!"

After several long moments the thrashing gradually reduced itself to a shiver punctuated by the rasping of Ebenezer's labored breath.

"Here," said the man, picking up a cup of water on the bed side table, "you must drink something."

Ebenezer reached out and slapped the cup from the man's hand which sent it smashing into a wall with a shower of water and glass. "No!" shrieked Ebenezer, "you want to kill me too!"

Infuriated, the man restrained himself. "You must calm down," he pleaded, "I've sent for someone to help you."

"To poison me!" Ebenezer screamed.

The skeleton man appeared at the doorway. "The doctor," he said, "the doctor is here sir."

"Get some rope quickly!" the well dressed man said as he attempted to hold Ebenezer to the bed.

The skeleton man rushed off clattering down the hall and returned with a length of rope with which he and the well dressed man lashed Ebenezer to the bed with.

"The doctor is here you say?" he asked the skeleton man.

"Yes sir," the skeleton man said "in the drawing room sir."

"Yes, well all right then. You'll sit here and keep an eye on him then won't you?" the well dressed man said.

"Of course, sir," the skeleton man said pulling up a chair along side the bed.


	3. Chapter 3

"This house is probably riddled with secret passages," The Doctor said running his hands along the edges of the bookcase.

"It would ruin the mood if it weren't," laughed Sarah nervously as she plopped down into one of the wing back chairs in the room.

"Indeed," wondered The Doctor aloud.

The heavy door to the drawing suddenly rattled loudly and a flurry of footsteps could be heard behind it. After a few minutes a jangle of keys could be heard and the door swung open.

"You must be the doctor I presume?" the well dressed man said as he entered the room with his hand outstretched.

"Yes, indeed I am," said The Doctor grasping the well dressed man's hand, "and this is Sarah Jane, my assistant."

"It's a pleasure to meet you ma'am," said the well dressed man.

"Charmed, I'm sure," Sarah said.

"Yes, well, I'm James Candage, I sent for you. You'll have to forgive our butler, he's been a bit shaken by the turn of events here lately. Can I offer you a glass of brandy, sherry perhaps?" he asked.

"A pint of ginger beer," The Doctor said.

"I'm afraid I can't do that one," James said.

"Awwwww," grimaced The Doctor.

"Well I would love a cup of tea," Sarah said hopefully.

"That I can do! We have a gas stove in the kitchen and we should have piping hot pot in no time at all!" James said. He walked a short distance across the room and pulled a long fabric cord that was hanging from the ceiling to ring for the butler. "Did you have any trouble finding the place?" he asked.

"Well, it was a bit out of the way but it was no trouble at all. Speaking of, you haven't exactly told us why we are here yet" The Doctor said.

Before James could answer, the skeleton man appeared at the doorway. The two exchanged a brief, whispered conversation and then the butler departed.

"Yes, well, I'm not really sure where to begin," James said. He paused in front of the large window in the room and looked out on the grounds. "This isn't my house actually. It belongs to my sister Carol," he paused struggling with the next few words, "and her husband, Ebenezer." "I've been away at sea you understand. I'm sort of a wanderer or an adventurer. I was born a touch too late for all the grand adventures; Egypt, the Sahara, South America. I wanted to see if there was any scientific or historical discovery I could claim as my own before they all vanished," he said.

"Ah, a kindred spirit," The Doctor said thoughtfully.

"A man of science are you then?" he asked.

"A doctor of almost every science except medicine," The Doctor said. Suddenly realizing his mistake, The Doctor held his breath. It was simple phrase he had repeated mechanically countless times to other inquires into his name. However this time, he may have just blown his cover.

"Ah yes, well I heard you were the best. The family physician has been here several times of course, but the problem is psychological," James said, "my dear sister died unexpectedly and rather mysteriously, not even three days ago now. Her husband Ebenezer has been unable to cope with it all and has descended into some form of mania or madness I'm afraid."


	4. Chapter 4

Ebenezer Osgood lay tied to the bed in the dimly lit chamber. His pulse had finally slowed, but the terror within him could be felt as the blood rushed through his ear drums with each and every beat of his terrified heart. His mind raced with specters and daemons; finding them in every nook and cranny about the room. The malaise of this accursed mansion was already penetrating him; the damp, the dark and the shadows were reaching out to him, to claw at his mind and pull him down to join them in the depths of the catacombs. They had taken his Carol and now they wanted him.

"Ebenezer!" the voice called again, "join me, Ebenezer!"

"No! Leave me alone!" Ebenezer pleaded.

"Ebenezer," the voice called, "you have no choice."

"No! Haven't I suffered enough? Leave me alone!" Ebenezer shrieked in terror.

"Ebenezer," the voice called, "I"m coming for you."

Terrified beyond the limits of his mortal body, Ebenezer's eyes darted about the room, searching in vain. A stream of air suddenly burst forth from the other side of the room, billowing the curtains hanging on the wall. Ebenezer twisted his neck nearly to the point of breaking to see what was happening from where he was tied to the bed.

"Ebenezer," the voice called, "I"m here for you."

The curtain slowly parted to reveal a single skeleton hand reaching out to Ebenezer.

"Ebenezer!" the voice called again, "join me, Ebenezer!"

The scream never left Ebenezer's gaping mouth.


	5. Chapter 5

"Died mysteriously, you say?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes, there was no apparent cause of illness or malady that Carol suffered as far as the physician could determine in any way. Of course I'm not entirely convinced she died of anything except natural causes," James said.

"You suspect foul play?" asked Sarah.

"Not in the traditional sense, no. Me and Carol used to regularly correspond while I've been away and nothing ever seemed out of the ordinary until last year when her letters seemed to take on a much darker tone. She complained of being unable to sleep well and about there being a presence in the house she couldn't describe. She often found herself in a daze wandering the halls late at night and she would awake to find herself in the catacombs. Her husband Ebenezer is suffering from some form of mental affliction he believes emanates from the house itself; I fear her mind was poisoned by watching what was left of her husband disintegrate," James said. "I digress, but naturally I made haste in returning from my expedition to South America only to discover in spite of my efforts, that I was a day too late," he paused. "The physician and coroner ruled the cause of her death as natural," he continued, "they could only conclude that her essence simply slipped away from her. Of course, her husband Ebenezer blames himself and since then something has just snapped within him. Carol was laid to rest three days ago in the family mausoleum in the catacombs beneath the house and since then Ebenezer has been suffering anxious fits and tremors of increasing severity with the dear old butler left alone to bare witness to the whole turn of events, poor fellow."

"A rather grim set of circumstances indeed," The Doctor mused.

"It's quite the night for it," Sarah said walking to window and looking out on the grounds, "I wonder how that tea is coming along."

Lightning flashed outside the mansion, illuminating the drawing room and throwing strange shadows on to the antique oriental rug. Between flashes, a specter like image of a woman appeared in the distance walking through the grounds.

"There's a woman outside!" Sarah said astonished.

"What? " said James startled.

"It's true," said Sarah, "she appeared out there on the lawn. She had long black hair and she was wearing some sort of nightgown."

"Well there's no one there now," James said motioning to outside the window. "I fear the deplorable pallor of this place is starting to affect you!" he said with a laugh.

"I know what I saw," Sarah said dejectedly.

"Perhaps because it's framed on the wall behind you," The Doctor said.

Startled, Sarah turned around to view a framed portrait of a young woman in her late 20's hanging over a roll top desk.

"That's Carol," James said, "in fact that was her favorite dress; she was buried in it."

Sarah let out a small gasp and placed her hand over he mouth.

"There is something to be said for the power of suggestion after all, Sarah," The Doctor said reassuringly.

"Yes, it's quite warranted and also quite forgivable under the circumstances," James said, "look, come have a seat and I'll see what's become of the tea."

James gently took Sarah by the arm and led her to one of the wing back chairs where she sat down remorsefully as he exited the room.

"I'm not some old matron you know," Sarah said, "I don't need to be stuffed out of the way with a pot of tea, a blanket and a copy of the Radio Times."

"Psaw, this is still the era of fainting couches and delicate sensitivities; I wouldn't be too offended if I were you," said The Doctor.

"Well you're not and I know what I saw," Sarah said, "What do you think it could be?"

"I didn't see it, so I don't know. I suppose I could ruminate about psychic impressions and all, but something makes this all feel just a bit," The Doctor began.

"Like some old movie," Sarah said, finishing his thought, "maybe it is just the power of suggestion after all."

"Yes, well, I wouldn't be too hard on yourself, sometimes not all the monsters are in movies," The Doctor said.


	6. Chapter 6

Hurried by the skeleton man's insistence, James flew up the stairs to Ebenezer's bedroom and threw open the door.

In his frenzy, Ebenezer had managed to twist himself in his bonds so that his upper torso was hanging off the bed. Ebenezer's face was frozen in an upside down look of absolute horror.

James rushed to his side and put him to right on the bed. He quickly felt for a pulse and found one, barely.

Walking back over to the skeleton man, James said, "He's alive, barely. Let's bring the tea to the girl, it's best that we not alarm her. I'll have a quiet word with the Doctor and we'll return here directly."

The skeleton man nodded his understanding and quickly left the room.


	7. Chapter 7

The door to the room opened and James reappeared with the skeleton man who was carrying a tray with a tea service on it.

"I'm sorry I took so long," James said as the skeleton man placed the tea service on the table next to Sarah. "We can eat a more proper meal later, but we managed to round up some pastries for the time being."

"Oh thank god!" said Sarah, "I'm famished!"

"Good! I hope you'll find everything to your liking," James said, "however Doctor, there is something I would like to discuss with you." James approached The Doctor and began a conversation in earnest with hushed tones and hand gestures.

The Doctor stood up and said, "I'm sorry Sarah, you'll have to excuse us a moment."

"Aren't you going to have something?" Sarah asked, not wanting to be left alone.

"I'm quite alright! I'll be back before the bullfrog croaks at midnight!" The Doctor said, touching the side of his nose. He and James then departed, closing the door behind them and leaving Sarah alone.

"Fttt," Sarah said indignantly. She didn't know why she bothered asking The Doctor to have anything in the first place. In fact, she could hardly remember The Doctor eating at all; he must bio synthesize food out of air molecules! Timelord physiology or not, he couldn't survive on jellybabies alone. She tried for weeks once to program the food synthesizer in the TARDIS by scanning all sorts of cookbooks and menus into it so that she and The Doctor could have a proper sit down meal. She even went as far as to clear out an old lab and turn it into a dining room and all he did was to ramble on and on about the anomalous mascons on Seti Alpha 4 and how great of a vacation spot it would be to visit. Apparently the planet is famous for areas of low gravity and people do all sorts of sports and activities in them. He never did end up touching the food even though Sarah enjoyed herself greatly.

Pouring herself a cup of tea, she found herself suddenly wishing she were back in her room in the TARDIS. Almost everywhere they went she tended to get pulled, poked and prodded and told to keep her head down and cheer up. Sometimes it was agonizing feeling like you wanted to go home and knowing that it was just outside, down the lane a few steps and a bit to the left.

Taking a sip, she studied her surroundings. There where the two wing back chairs; one of which she was sitting in and the other which The Doctor had just vacated. A large oriental rug covered most of the floor and the walls were covered in bookcases, which they went over earlier. They didn't contain anything interesting other than run of the mill fiction for the era and some books on fishing, plants and other outdoors activities. It was all a bit trivial, so she assumed there must be a personal library elsewhere in the mansion. The wall opposite the window held the roll top desk and the portrait. She didn't realize it earlier, but the portrait could have been reflected in glass from behind her. That seemed plausible, but she was certain she saw the figure move. Then again, this all seemed like one of the trite novels on the bookshelves, so who really knew for sure.

Her eyes moved to the roll top desk; apparently James had set himself up a temporary office of sorts at the desk. Putting down her cup she went over to the desk to look at it more closely. It contained the odd variety of correspondence and even more specifically, the correspondence between James and Carol. Events that were displaced by months of travel over sea and land were suddenly reduced to minutes as Sarah leafed through the letters. Watching the events transpire as Carol descended into madness had a dizzying effect on Sarah. She put the letters down and tried to clear her head by focusing on several wooden small boxes on the desk. She opened them up and each seemed to be some sort of naturists field kit; there were diagrams of plants and samples of seeds and extracts in small vials along with notebooks full of notes. She picked up a vial at random and held it before the candle on the table to inspect the contents.

The light of the candle passing through the glass almost had a hypnotic effect on Sarah. Suddenly she felt more dizzy than before and quickly became disoriented. Her legs gave out from under her and she collapsed onto the floor as the ceiling dissolved into blackness.


	8. Chapter 8

The door to Ebenezer's room opened with a creak as James pushed it open. The dim light from the candle he was holding revealed Ebenezer's twisted and horrific form which complimented the equally twisted shadows that clung to the corners and lurked on the ceiling. The Doctor walked into the room behind James and studied the frail and motionless figure on the then proceeded to sit at the edge of the bed when a series of deep grooves in the wainscoting caught his attention. Running his hand over them, it was easy to deduce that the motion of the bed had made them where it contacted the wall. Turning his attention to Ebenezer, he examined his eyes which were frozen open and staring at some unseen horror on the other side of the room. The pupils were completely dilated, which darkened the sockets and transformed his withered head into the facade of a skull.

"Lets get these ropes removed" The Doctor said as he began working on a knot.

"Are you sure that's safe?" James whispered.

"He's unconscious, he's no harm to anyone. Why are you whispering?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know," James replied, " this whole thing is just so unsettling, I didn't know what else to do. He was thrashing about so violently."

"Well he's not now, so give me a hand," said The Doctor.

James put the candle down on the bedside table and assisted The Doctor in undoing the bonds he had previously laid upon Ebenezer. When they were finished, James coiled up the rope and placed it on the floor as The Doctor made Ebenezer more comfortable.

"Look, I really, I just didn't know what to do," James said apologetically. "The whole bed looked as if it were going to break apart. I tried to calm him down, but he practically attacked me," James said as he glanced down at the broken shards of glass that lay on the floor.

"So I gather," The Doctor said as he followed Jame's gaze to the broken glass. "And judging by the depth of those grooves in the wall, I also gather this has been happening for quite some time," he said, motioning to the wainscoting.

"Yes, although this time was more severe than any of the others," James said, "they also seem to be increasing in their frequency. Lately he's been accusing me of plotting to kill him, he seems to believe the entire house is out to get him."

"Maybe it is," The Doctor said thinking out loud.

"I'm sorry?" asked James.

"The way he was twisted about on the bed, it was almost as if he was looking at something," The Doctor said. "What's behind this wall?" he asked as he walked to the tapestry hanging opposite the bed.

"About ten or fifteen feet of bricks and motor," said James, "and then Carol's room is on the other side, just down the hall."

The Doctor lifted the tapestry, made a brief inspection of the wall and then replaced it.

"They had separate rooms?" The Doctor asked.

"Well," James began, "yes. First Carol used it as a study and then later moved into it when things got to be a bit too much with, ah, um.."

"Ah, yes well, the rest is easy enough to sort out," said The Doctor.

"Indeed," James said under his breath, embarrassed, "so what do you think is wrong with him then?"

"Oh, I don't know," The Doctor said looking at Ebenezer, "I suppose some sort of shock induced coma, he'll come out of it when he wants to. He seems stable enough; no heart palpitations or anything that I could detect anyway. As I said you know I'm not a man of medical science."

"Well what do you think is the cause of everything then," James said, "psychological speaking?"

"Oh, well, I suppose we shall have to ask him that, when he comes to." The Doctor said.

"So, he's ok for now?" James asked.

"Yes, for the time being, at least." said The Doctor.

"Well, then how bout I ring for the butler? He can stay with him and we can go down and sit with Sarah. It's more comfortable down there and she probably shouldn't be left alone for too long," James said.

"That would probably be a most excellent idea, although Sarah is a bit more sturdy than I could probably convince you of to any reasonable degree," The Doctor said with a smile, "however I wouldn't say no to even a cup of tea at this point."

"Well then it's settled," James said as went over to the velvet rope to call for the butler.


	9. Chapter 9

The drawing room was silent except for the faint ticking of a clock far off in the distant, gloomy reaches of the mansion. The room's occupant lay unconscious and dimply lit by a candle which was straining to stay alight, as if it were solely responsible for keeping Sarah Jane alive. The door to the room slowly swung open with a creak, sending dust into swirls with a puff of air.

"My god! The girl!" James said rushing to where Sarah lay on the floor.

"Sarah! Sarah!" The Doctor said, kneeling next to her and taking her hand in his, "What's happened?"

There came no response from Sarah's prostrate form. The Doctor lifted her eyelids and made a brief inspection.

"Help me get her into a chair," The Doctor said, taking hold of Sarah's arms and lifting her up.

James helped The Doctor lift Sarah into the chair and set her down gently.

"Whats happened? What's wrong with her?" James asked.

"Her pupils are somewhat dilated, I suspect she's been exposed to some sort of drug or toxin. There's no sign of trauma or a struggle and the way she collapsed on the floor suggests she was unconscious before she collapsed," The Doctor said.

"How do you mean the way she fell?" James asked.

"Well, she was laying on her back and both of her knees were bent and pointed to the right. That would suggest that the neurological signals controlling the muscles from her brain were suddenly shut off leaving her legs unable to support the center of mass in her upper body. Which in turn caused the knees to bend and the center of mass more or less fell down directly over them where upon reaching the floor, gravity took over and she fell backwards into the position in which we found her," The Doctor said.

'Ah, I see!" James said, "if she had been in a scuffle, been pushed or hit her head on something, we would expect to see her laying in different position. I have to say I didn't know exactly what to deduce, usually whenever someone goes unconscious in the pictures they either faint straight away onto a couch or lay face down on the floor."

"Ah, well you can't believe everything you see in the movies," The Doctor said as he crouched down to examine the spot where said had lain. "What's this?" The Doctor asked, holding up a small glass vial.

"Ah," James began, "that's probably the culprit and it's my fault for not mentioning it straight away." "After I learned of Ebenezer's mental illness and the symptoms described to me by Carol through her letters, I thought perhaps that some of the various neurotoxins I discovered on my travels that had been used by various indigenous peoples as an anesthetic might bring him some comfort. I first observed their use in the Caribbean islands during Voodoo rituals and I was able to trace their source to a particular species of plant which grows throughout the region. That particular vial you're holding is such an example. I have a selection of them along with several others and all of my field notes over here on the desk," James said, "I fear she must have gotten into that one."

"Tell me, how quickly does this neurotoxin act?" The Doctor asked.

"Fairly quickly, she would only need to touch a slight amount of it and the affects would be almost instantaneous," James said.

"Ah I see, so it's absorbed through the skin?" The Doctor asked.

"Yes, that's what made it so particularly effective for carrying out Voodoo attacks. Of course for medicinal purposes and in small doses there's a pronounced calming effect that will last for several hours," James said.

'Yes, I see, she must have dropped it when she collapsed. However, the vial is closed. Do you think she would have had enough time to reseal it? I don't think Sarah is the sort to go touching mysterious substances," The Doctor said.

"She might have, it depends on how much contact she had with the toxin and for how long. I suppose when she comes round we can ask her what happened," James said.

"So she's safe for the time being?" The Doctor asked.

"Oh perfectly so, I don't think she would have touched much of it as there doesn't appear to be any missing from the vial. I marked all the vials you see, so that I could measure how much is produced from the exact quantity of source material," James said.

"Ah! A man who knows his methods!" The Doctor said, "Well how about making her more comfortable then?"

"How bout I go fetch her a blanket and then if things are well with Ebenezer, I'll have the butler prepare us a dinner. No doubt she'll be hungry by the time she comes too," James said.

"Yes, I think that would be a good idea," The Doctor said sitting down in the wing back chair opposite Sarah, so lost in thought he didn't hear Jame's response or the door close behind him.


	10. Chapter 10

A great many minutes had passed since the Doctor sat down in the wing back chair and began thinking. He sat motionlessly staring off into space as the door to the drawing room opened, signaling James' return.

"I'm sorry I took so long," James said as he unfolded a blanket, "however everything is well upstairs and the butler is well on his way to having a meal prepared for us."

"Hm?" said The Doctor, startled, "I was just thinking."

"An insight into our situation I hope?" James said, laying the blanket over Sarah which caused her to moan slightly.

"She's coming round!" James said in surprise. James quickly took hold of her hand and stroked it. "Sarah, are ok? Can you tell us what happened? Sarah!"

Sarah blinked several times and strained her eyes against the faint candlelight to make sense of her surroundings. Realizing she was back in the drawing room, she let out a cynical sigh.

"I was hoping this was all a dream," Sarah said, disappointed.

"Stay seated," James said as he adjusted the blanket that covered Sarah, "you've come in contact with a powerful anesthetic, the effects will wear off shortly."

"Anesthetic!" Sarah said bewildred.

"Yes, it was in the vial you were holding," said James.

"The vial?" Sarah said as he mind drifted to the last few hazy moments before she went unconscious.

"You must have opened it and come into contact with it. It gets absorbed through the skin, we found it lying next to you on the floor," answered James.

"But I didn't open it," Sarah protested.

"You probably did and you just don't remember it," James said reassuringly.

Just then from somewhere deep inside the mansion, a gong sounded the presentation of the evening meal.

"Ah, it's about time! Look, dinner is ready. Do you think you would feel better if you feel better if you managed to eat something?" James asked Sarah.

"Yes! But, it's the getting up and walking I'm not sure about," Sarah said as she tested her strength by trying to get out of the chair.

"No, no! Don't get up," James said urging Sarah to sit back in the chair. "I believe we have a wheelchair around here, in some unused cupboard no doubt. I'll see if I can't go fetch it, you wait right here!" James said and then exited the room a moment later.

"What exactly happened, Sarah?" The Doctor asked.

"You mean you don't believe me either?" Sarah said in a forced whisper. "I didn't open it, I know I'm not crazy!" Sarah said, her eyes darting around the room, fearful she might be overheard.

"I didn't say that," The Doctor said.

"I just went over to the bookshelf, looked around a bit, then went over to the desk and I looked at some letters. Then I picked up the vial and it looked cloudy, so I held it up to the candle light to try and get a better look and then everything went black. That's it, I swear!" Sarah protested.

"I believe you," The Doctor began, but he was interrupted by the door clattering open and James pushing a wheelchair into the room before he could finish.

"Ah there you go! We'll have you fixed up in no time at all!" James said enthusiastically as he assisted Sarah into the wheelchair.

Sarah sat down in the wheel chair as James arranged the blanket around her lap. Checking to make sure she was secure, James turned to The Doctor and said "Shall we dine?"

"Yes, I do believe so, if you'll lead the way!" The Doctor said.

The small party left the drawing room and made it's way down the dusty main hallway to stop at a door which James opened and then pushed Sarah through. The dining room was more brightly lit than the drawing room with it's single and almost ineffective candle. There were several candelabras around the room; two on the dining room table and one on the side board, which held the dinner. The latter quickly caught Sarah's attention as she practically begged to be wheeled over to the sideboard. Laid out on it, Sarah could see a main course of roast chicken, mashed potatoes, fresh baked bread and several small bowls filled with green vegetables. James assisted Sarah in preparing her own plate and then fixed one for himself after seeing that Sarah was comfortable at the dining table. The Doctor sat down in a chair at the end of the table was quickly lost in thought. After a furious few minutes of steady eating, Sarah paused long enough to inquire about something to drink.

"Silly me!" said James as he got up from the table and went to the tea service that was on the sideboard. He poured a cup of tea for Sarah and handed it to her gently. "Be careful now, it's hot," said James.

"You know, I do believe i"d like a cup if it's not too much trouble," The Doctor asked.

"Not not at all, my pleasure," James said as he went to pour a second cup.

As Sarah cradled the steaming cup of tea in her hands, she eavesdropped in on James and The Doctor's conversation. They seemed to deeply immersed in what must have been the latest in psychoanalytic techniques, at least what must have been latest for this era anyway, she surmised. The Doctor was maintaining his cover as whatever sort of psychiatrist James seemed to think he was, she noted.

Putting down her cup of tea, she reached for her knife and fork to resume eating. Suddenly she stopped herself. She held her hands up in front of her to examine her finger tips. On both of her hands, her thumb, first and second fingers were covered in a back, ink like substance. She was sure it wasn't there before dinner. Curiously, she rubbed them together to feel what it was. Sensing nothing, she picked up the tea cup and inspected it for dirt or grim to find nothing amiss. Bewildered, she set the cup back down and tried to clean the substance off with a napkin. Her concentration was broken when a blood curdling scream was emitted from somewhere upstairs.

"It's Ebenezer!" James said throwing his napkin to the floor and making a dash for the door. The Doctor got up from his chair and followed in quick pursuit.

"Oh no!" said Sarah to the empty room, "you're not leaving me alone this time!"

Forcing herself out of the wheelchair, Sarah managed to haul herself along the room to the door by using the dining table as a hand rail. After lurching for the door, she was able to make her way to the stairs by leaning on the wall. Sarah stopped briefly to steady herself.

"I do not want to be down here alone, I do not want to be down here alone," she repeated to herself in silence, "so come on feet, one after the other you an do it."

Slowly she took one step after another until she emerged onto the second floor landing. From there, she could see the butler standing in an open doorway about halfway down the hallway, from which muffled gasps were emanating. Clinging to the wall for support, she made her way to the doorway and practically fell through it. She managed to gasp hold of The Doctor's long coat for support. Once she was able to steady herself, she look up at the wall in horror. Written in dripping letters of blood was the word MURDER. Opposite the wall was a very awake and terrified Ebenezer who was sitting up in bed and staring at the wall, as if in a horrified trance. Held up in front of him were his hands, which were covered in blood.


	11. Chapter 11

"You" James said, turning to face Ebenezer where he sat in terror on the bed, "did this! Your guilty conscience has finally gotten the better of you and you wrote it with your blood stained hands!"

Ebenezer slowly turned to look at James, his mouth hanging agape with shock. "No!" he managed to stammer, "I, I..."

"The room was locked from the outside, the butler is the only one with a key!" James said in protest as he turned towards The Doctor.

"Well let's not jump to conclusions," The Doctor said, holding onto Sarah with one hand and addressing the butler with the other, "is that true?"

"I'm afraid it is sir," the butler said to The Doctor, "I took possession of the keys to prevent Mr. Osgood from locking himself away and possibly hurting himself after Mrs. Osgood passed away."

"Well where did the blood come from then?" asked Sarah from within the folds of The Doctor's coat.

"It was her," Ebenezer whispered, "ghost!"

"Returned from the grave to bring her murderer to justice!" James said.

"Let's dispense with the unsubstantiated accusations for the time being, they aren't helping us get anywhere!" The Doctor said.

"I"m sorry," said James, taken aback by The Doctor's authoritative tone, "I've been trying to put on a good facade, but I seem to be failing as of late."

"Then how about making yourself useful and getting something to clean up with?" The Doctor said.

"I suppose that would be the thing to do," James said remorsefully as he left the room with the butler.

"And Sarah, how about sitting here for the time being?" The Doctor said as he assisted Sarah onto the small chair in the room.

"Why did you leave me alone again?" Sarah asked, he tone tinted with anger. "I actually almost wished I had stayed downstairs now,' Sarah said as she looked around the room.

"Who, who are you?" Ebenezer creaked from where he was still sitting upright on the bed, his eyes frozen in a look of horror.

"I'm The Doctor, I'm here to help," The Doctor said, "and this is my assistant Sarah."

"Charmed I'm sure," said Sarah sarcastically. She then chided herself silently for her rudeness. After years of traveling with The Doctor, the pace of life had seem to become a blur and it was easy to forget that the people she encountered were real and not just some sort of animitronic characters in a giant amusement park that existed only in The Doctor's mind.

"He wants to poison me and make me die too," Ebenezer said suddenly.

The Doctor bent down and leaned in towards Ebenezer. "Who does?" he asked.

"James. He poisoned Carol," Ebenezer said bluntly.

"Are you sure?" asked The Doctor.

"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Ebenezer said.

"But he was away at sea when she died and in South America before that," Sarah added.

"How did he poison her?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know," Ebenezer said as his face fell to a shadowy look of self doubt. "Perhaps then, I am truly mad," he said, looking down at his bloodstained hands.

"Tell me, what did you see over there, before?" The Doctor asked.

Ebenezer turned his head to look at the wall where he had seen Carol's skeletal hand emerge, which now displayed the word MURDER.

"She called me to join her in the grave," Ebenezer whispered,"Ebenezer, Ebenezer..."

"She's buried in the catacombs beneath the house, she can't hurt you now," Sarah said reassuringly.

Ebenezer slowly shook his head in disagreement. "She called to me," he whispered, "with her hand."

The door to the room opened and James entered and was followed by the butler who was carrying a bucket full of cleaning supplies and several towels.

"Look, I'm sorry about earlier," James said as he started mixing a powder into the bucket, "but we'll have this sorted out in no time."

"Well, let's not be so hasty," The Doctor said, "I haven't had any time to examine the room for clues." The Doctor covered the short distance to the opposite wall in the room and made a close inspection of the bloody words by taking a jeweler's loupe out of one of his pockets and affixing it to his eye. After a few moments, he let the loupe drop into his hand and quickly pocketed it as he pulled a small pen knife with his other. He then opened the knife and proceeded to pick and poke at the dried blood for a few minutes. Seemingly satisfied, he closed the knife and returned it to it's former resting place.

"It certainly is real blood," The Doctor began, "which you can obviously tell by the way it has dried. And what's more, is that it was drawn by hand. There are several prominent lines throughout that would indicate finger strokes. Now the question of the moment is, where exactly did the blood come from? And I believe that can be solved by turning our attentions to our friend here."

The butler seemed to become aware of The Doctor's unintentional request and dutifully moved to accommodate his command out of acquiescence. Picking up the bucket and a towel, he went over to Ebenezer and knelt down beside him and began cleaning his hands. When he finished, they showed no sign of damage nor injury.

"Well I do believe that make things all the more mysterious," The Doctor said. He paused to reflect on the sudden turn of events for a moment. Not wanting to let the latest development further affect Ebenezer's already addled state, a sudden thought came to him. "Do you think you could stand up? Would you like to perhaps put on some clothes and come down to dinner? Your friend here has made quite a spread and it would be a shame for it to go to waste," The Doctor said with his biggest grin, "if you think you can manage that is."

"That would be nice" Ebenezer said with a hollow voice.

"Ah, that's a good fellow then!" The Doctor said enthusiastically.

"I'll assist him, Sir," the butler said as he stood up from where he knelt.

"Sarah, if you think you can walk, perhaps we should all return to the dining room," The Doctor said, "where we can wait for out host."

Sarah sighed inwardly. The night was quickly unraveling into a swirling mass of confusion. "Yes, if you'll help me," she said to The Doctor reluctantly. Begrudgingly she stood up and leaned against The Doctor's tall frame. James had begun making concerned remarks to the butler as the pair began their dark descent down the stairway.

"And it wasn't there before?" The Doctor asked Sarah as they negotiated their way down the stairs.

"No, I don't know where it came from. I just happened to look down at my hands and there it was," Sarah insisted.

"That is mysterious," The Doctor said.

Sarah sighed inwardly again. She should have known better than to probe The Doctor's mind for clues or answers. She never really was able to tell what he was thinking until some grand finale moment where he'd finally either dispense a long winded denouement in the manner of Sherlock Holmes or some grandiose speech about how the fate of a civilization hangs on the decision whether to press a button or not. What about the small things in life? Sarah supposed there must be no small things in The Doctor's mind. Sometimes she wondered if he avoided vacations on purpose. Of course he claims that the TARDIS has a mind of it's own, or that some preternatural force guides their journeys around time and space. You could never really tell for sure, but one thing she knew for sure was that she deserved a break. She contemplated this on the way to the dining room to await their creepy host in an even creepier mansion.


	12. Chapter 12

"See?" said Sarah, holding up the teacup for The Doctor to examine.

"Well there's nothing there now," he replied.

"Ugh," Sarah sighed, "there isn't supposed to be. That's what I was trying to tell you! There wasn't anything there, then, either."

"So where do you think it came from?" The Doctor asked.

"I don't know," Sarah said growing impatient, "I just looked down and there it was and I assumed it must have come from the tea cup as it was the last thing I was holding and I'm pretty sure it wasn't there before."

"I suppose then it could be some dust from the wheelchair," The Doctor said absentmindedly as he resumed his position in the chair at the far end of the table.

"But it's not coming off," Sarah said with a hint of worry as she looked at her fingers, upon which the black spots had only begun to show the faintest signs of beginning to fade. Sarah sighed and resumed wiping her fingers on a napkin halfheartedly. Giving up in quiet frustration, she resumed her meal that had began before the evening's excitement. Picking at her food with a fork, Sarah asked, "do you think it was such a good idea to encourage him to come downstairs?"

"I don't see what harm it could do," The Doctor said, "it may even clear his mind a little. Perhaps maybe even enough to tell us what's going on."

"I suppose," said Sarah, "but the poor man was frightened to death."

After a few moments of awkward silence, the door to the dining room opened and the skeleton butler appeared holding a candle. He was soon followed by James who guided Ebenezer to a seat. Sarah surveyed the now washed and combed figure of her host. Gone were the tent like pajamas and with it, the dark pallor of the upstairs bedroom. In their place, Ebenezer wore a gray fitted suit that looked quite smart, despite the fact that it now covered his emaciated figure. Sarah thought that under different circumstances, he would have even looked handsome. The butler bustled about between the sideboard and table to prepare a plate for his employer. When finished, he gently laid it on the table before him. Ebenezer sat motionless in the dim light of the room, not noticing the plate placed before him as the butler went and stood silently beside the door.

Sarah poked nervously at her food while The Doctor sat thinking, seemingly unaware of Ebenezer's entrance. James sat across the table from Sarah and appeared to be rather concerned with the food on his plate. Sarah surmised that he must feel as uncomfortable as she did. Sarah was pondering what was going to happen next when Ebenezer abruptly broke the silence.

"The house stood empty and alone for years," Ebenezer said to no one in particular, "a once great family roamed these halls and they were filled with life and laughter."

Sarah strained not to show how startled she was at his sudden oratory. The Doctor sat motionless while James continued poking at the food on his plate.

"But now, they sit in silence. Having grown colder and darker with each passing death, claiming each one for itself so that they may never leave this place," he continued.

"Who," Sarah stammered, "so who may never leave?"

"The dead," he replied.

Sarah sighed under her breath, regretting her inquiry.

"The pallor of this house, the malodorous atmosphere," he continued once more, "it emanates from the depths of the catacombs themselves. Wilting and withering all who dwell within this house."

"These catacombs, that sort of thing isn't normally the tradition around these parts, is it?" asked The Doctor.

"No," the skeleton butler creaked from his position by the door, "they're a natural formation. They were used in the revolutionary war to store weapons. Before that, legend has it that they were used to store pirate booty and supplies."

"Ah yes, being in that were so near the coast," The Doctor said, "and then obviously someone came along and thought they would make a nice sort of final resting place."

The skeleton butler nodded his silent agreement from beside the door.

"Upon the joy of our marriage, I, for a time, thought that perhaps the curse upon this house had been lifted," Ebenezer said as he regained his monotone soliloquy, "but presently, Carol became afflicted with the evil of this house. She would often awake at night to find that she had been wandering the halls and then near then end, she would frequently find herself in the catacombs. She grew pale and thin and I began to fear that I would lose her. My mind suddenly found itself tortured with the memories of the past: my older brother, trampled by a passing carriage in the street, my father who drowned in the mill pond and my mother, who threw herself out of the tower window. Madness is our curse, brought to us by this house, as a result of some trespass which I can not fathom."

"How awful!" Sarah said softly, covering her mouth with one hand.

"As a child I was sent to live with nearby relatives, in hopes that I may escape the curse. I was the first in more than two centuries to have lived outside these walls. One by one, as the curse claimed my family, it was invertible that I would return to take my place as head of the household and also that of our family business," Ebenezer said. "The years passed slowly and I bore a morose existence as I trod the halls alone with nary a soul to keep me company except for that of Jenkins, our butler and family friend. What light that had existed for such a brief time has now departed and I fear that the curse is now upon my person," Ebenezer paused for what seemed like an eternity before he began again, "except that now, I am not alone. I have seen Carol walking the grounds and heard her call for me to join her merely days after she was laid to rest. I feel my time is at hand."

With those last words, Ebenezer's already darkened face withered as he bowed is head in defeat; Sarah shuddered recalling the vision she had seen outside the window earlier that evening.

"Would you please stop with this foolish insistence that you have seen Carol!" James said suddenly as he let his fork drop to his plate with a clatter.

"But I have," pleased Ebenezer.

"You haven't and you're being counter productive!" insisted James.

"Well let's not be hasty," The Doctor said.

"I simply want for him to get well," James said with a sigh, " I don't think it's within his best interests to encourage him to dwell on these delusions."

"I don't think any of us are in a position to rule anything out anything at this point," The Doctor said, "considering we still haven't found the source of the blood on the walls."

'What are you suggesting?" James asked.

"Merely that we have an unexplained fact on our hands and that it would be foolish to argue in terms of absolutes. You forget that Sarah also claims to have seen Carol," The Doctor said.

James placed his hands on the table and pushed himself up out of his seat. He then made a fist with his right hand and struck the table softly with it to accentuate the point he was about to make. "Then we'll put an end to this right now," James said. Ebenezer, whose gaze was still cast downward, turned to look at him.

Sarah looked up at James from her seat across the table. "Now, what are you suggesting?" she said smartly, countering his own inquisition.

"I am quite plainly suggesting that we go to the catacombs, open her coffin and put and end to this nonsense," James said.

Sarah's mouth hung open agape at the unexpectedness of his answer. "Surely you can't be serious!" she said.

"Indeed I am," James replied.


	13. Chapter 13

"I can't believe you're actually going along with this," Sarah whispered to The Doctor.

"Well of course I am," The Doctor replied as he led the way for Sarah down one of the mansion's dark and musty hallways. The butler in turn led the fore of the group by instinct through the maze like twists and turns. "Besides, I want to get a good look at these catacombs," he added, "and at the worst, we'll manage to either prove or disprove if it's all been a collective hallucination, or not."

"We are going somewhere nice when we leave here and I won't take no for an answer," Sarah said in a stern whisper, "no corridors, no hallways, no robots, no bogey men. In fact, if we open the TARDIS door and I even sense something sinister, I'm going to board up the door and we'll spend some time inside for a change. You'll have a to-do list you know! You'll have to mend the pool and I have some decorating and architectural patterns and scans that I want you to run into the mainframe computer. You need to get rid of some of those unused storage bays and make a few new additions; actual living rooms! Not dusty rooms full of your junk!"

"Aww, but I like my junk!" The Doctor chided.

"Well you can kiss it goodbye if you screw up our next holiday," Sarah said, peering ahead of her into the darkness. Sarah could make out the feeble light of the butler's candle at the end of the hallway where it came to a stop. James stood behind the butler with a firm grasp on Ebenezer's arm. A jangle of keys could be heard as the butler tried to locate the correct one in the darkness. A resounding click in the lock and the shudder of the door as it was pushed opened singled the butler's success.

The small party filed into the kitchen which was dimly lit by the fire of a wood burning stove on the far wall. The glow it gave off felt warm and cheery compared to the rest of the house. The stove looked like an antique that Sarah surmised would have looked right at home in any proper nan's kitchen. However it was probably only a nuisance rather than a curiosity in this day and age.

As the party waited, a jangle of keys could heard again.

"Why do you keep all these rooms locked?" Sarah asked nervously," I mean, they're just regular rooms. It's not like you're keeping the crown jewels in them or anything."

"It's for the protection of the Master, Ma'am," the butler said as he unlocked another door within the kitchen.

"You'll have to forgive the eccentricities of my brother in law," James said with a slight scowl, "he fears that Carol may either come to fetch him down to the catacombs or that he will end up there himself. However, in light of the fact that I just had to tie him to the bed to prevent him from injuring himself, we can consider it apt foresight."

The door swung open to reveal a staircase descending into darkness. The butler lead the way down the stairs with his footsteps echoing in the darkness; the reluctant party followed, with James being the sole exception. Sarah could see Ebenezer's form grow stiff with fear as they descended the staircase. It almost looked as if James was intent on dragging him to the catacombs by the firm grip that he held on his arm.

Presently, the party arrived in the basement. The butler immediately strode to a heavy, wooden door that was braced with several cross pieces of timber on the other side of the basement. Sarah and The Doctor glanced around at the near, total darkness of the basement. From what they could see, it contained the usual basement requisites: jars and supplies for canning, a dressmaker's dummy, a drum style washing machine with a automatic ringer attachment on top and other assorted bric-a-brack. The Doctor walked over to a small alcove in the back of the basement, above which a rather ghastly contraption of hooks, chains and metal pulleys was hanging.

"Halloa! What's this for then?" The Doctor asked.

The butler turned from his place in front of the heavy door and looked back at The Doctor, staining to see in the darkness. "It's a manual elevator sir. It's used to transfer food and supplies in and out of the main house," the butler said.

"Ah, yes I see!" said The Doctor, moving into the alcove and looking above him at the elevator's trap door, "It's too bad there's no children about as they probably could have had marvelous adventures on this sort of thing!" As The Doctor turned to rejoin the group, he stumbled into a large bin that was on the lower platform and tipped it over with a metallic thud that created a din within the stone basement. The butler immediately trundled over to The Doctor.

"You've upset the rubbish bin, Sir. We'll have it sorted out in just a second," the butler said as his body creaked as he knelt down to pick up the bin.

"Well, let me help you," offered The Doctor.

"It's quite all right, Sir," the butler said as he righted the bin, "don't bother clearing up, the man comes round tomorrow to collect the rubbish anyway." The butler stood up, dusted his hands off and walked back over to the wooden door. He fished about the keyring he carried and quickly produced the right key. He unlocked the door and strained against its weight as he struggled to open it. James let Ebenezer from his grasp and assisted the butler by taking hold of a large cast iron ring set into the door. As the door opened with a heavy groan, a blast of cold air escaped from the depths below. Sarah shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly wishing she was back in the kitchen and warmth of the stove.

"Well, there's no turning back now," James said as he took hold of Ebenezer again.

"How delightfully macabre or you," Sarah said sarcastically.

"Isn't a plain wooden door a bit unbecoming of a final resting place?" The Doctor asked.

The butler shrugged his indifference, then held his candle aloft to lead the way into the catacombs.

"I suppose that there hasn't been much to remember," Sarah said, recalling Ebenezer's tale of tragedies.

The group started down a stone staircase that was carved out of the living bedrock. The walls were filling the staircase with cold and damp as they descended. It was easy for Sarah to imagine Carol literally catching her death from too much exposure if she did indeed find herself down here for any length of time.

"So then that door wasn't locked before?" Sarah asked, "I mean before everything went a bit wonky."

"No need to," the butler said, leading them ever deeper into the darkness.

The staircase gave way to a landing in which the path branched off in three directions.

"This way," the butler said, walking down the pathway straight ahead.

The group filed past several rows of iron gates that were set into the stone walls on either side of the path, silently protecting the contents of their niches, whose contents lay shrouded by darkness. Abruptly, the path ended at another iron gate sent into the wall directly ahead of the butler. The familiar jangle of keys was heard again and the gate opened silently into the darkness. Sarah assumed it must have been oiled in light of the recent internment.

The light from the butler's candle dimly illuminated a vast chamber in which caskets could be seen laying in silent formation in the depths of several niches along the walls. The butler pressed on until he arrived at a lone metal casket that stood atop a stone dais and then abruptly stopped. James inched Ebenezer forward by the hold he had on his arm and then nodded to the butler. Understanding the unspoken command, the butler held his candle aloft and opened the casket. Silently, the lid swung open to reveal the prostrate form of the woman from the portrait. Ebenezer, upon seeing Carol, where she lay relatively unchanged from when she was laid to rest several days previous, lowered his head in resignation. James signaled to the butler again with another nod and to which he responded in like and then shut the lid of the casket. The sound of the lid closing resounded against the walls of the chamber signaling the end of the evening's experiment as well as any doubts that anyone may have harbored.

"Yes, well I think that's enough excitement for one night, Doctor?" James asked, searching the dimly lit chamber for The Doctor who seemed to have disappeared.

"Hm?" The Doctor said looking up from where he knelt beside the casket, out of sight of the others.

"Are you ready to go?" James replied.

"Ah yes, I'm quite ready if you are," said The Doctor, rejoining the group.

"Good, then let's be on our way," James said as he motioned for the butler to retake his place at the head of the procession and retrace their steps back to the kitchen.


	14. Chapter 14

The door to the kitchen swung open and the little party shuffled into the kitchen quietly. Sarah let out a sigh of relief as she as she entered the warm kitchen where she quickly forgot the cold and macabre in the basement beneath her. Reaching down to smooth out her dress and shake off the dust of the basement, she noticed that The Doctor's shoes were covered in something white and fluffy.

"You've got something all over your shoes," she said to The Doctor.

"Have I?" he said quizzically. The Doctor walked closer to the stove to get a better look at his shoes in the light. He held up a foot before the grate on the wood burning stove and noticed that his black brogue was indeed covered in something mysterious. He then slipped it off, picked it up and then he made a quick examination by plucking a bit off of his shoe. "Why, it's a feather!" he exclaimed with amusement.

"It's from when you upset the rubbish bin, Sir. Off with the other one then," the butler said as he motioned for The Doctor to take his remaining shoe off. Once the shoe was off and The Doctor was in his stocking feet, the butler took the pair to the counter sink, took a hand towel from a drawer, laid them both on the counter and then proceeded to pump vigorously at the handle of a hand pump that was set into the counter. Once the water was flowing, he took a metal bowl from a shelf and added some soap powder to it from a box on the counter. He then placed the bowl under the stream and worked it into a frothy mixture. Picking up the hand towel, he moistened one end in the soapy water and proceeded to remove the debris. When the shoes were clean again, he used the other side of the towel to dry them off. When he finished, he handed them back to The Doctor and said, "there you are Sir, good as new."

"Splendid!" The Doctor said as he took his shoes from the butler, "tell me, why do use the hand pump instead of the tap on the sink? That must be an awful amount of work for a chap such as yourself."

"We get our water from a well. We keep the hand pump for emergencies when the electricity isn't working," the butler said.

"Ah! I see, you have an electric pump! You must get quite a few of these storms being so close to the coast. The gulf stream brings warm water from the South right past the coast where it mixes with the colder air from the North. It must make for a terrific amount of meteorological instability and precipitation," The Doctor said excitedly.

"That I don't know, Sir. But we do seem to get a bit more than our fair share of storms," the butler said.

"That's exactly what he means; wind and rain! He's showing off, don't mind him," Sarah said with a playful glance at The Doctor.

"Well if everything is sorted out here, perhaps you can show our guests to the drawing room again," James said to the butler. "Would you perhaps fancy a coffee or a cordial? I know it's a bit strange under the current circumstances, but perhaps putting on a good face will set us right," he said to The Doctor and Sarah.

"Only if our dear butler can join us," The Doctor said with a smile, "I'm sure he could use something warm to drink after having been down below. And after all, he did such a good job on my shoes..."

"'Yes!," Sarah added, "A bit of company would be nice! Just as long as everyone promises not to mention charades."

"I won't hear of it," James said.

Ebenezer raised a weary hand to silence him.

"But surely you think that consorting with the guests will set a poor example for the other staff," James said as he pleaded with Ebenezer.

"And you forget that this is still my house," Ebenezer replied softly.

"Of course, as you wish," James said with resignation, "and since the matter is settled, I'll assist Ebenezer to his room and rejoin you in the drawing room afterwords." With little more than a parting glance, James departed and ascended the back staircase with Ebenezer.

The butler went to a cupboard next to the sink and opened it and took out a silver tray and matching carafe. He then set them on the counter, walked over to the stove and opened the grate. Picking up a poker that lay next to it, he poked at the fire and said "I suppose you'll be wanting coffee then?"

"Yes, that would be lovely, " said Sarah, "does he always go around talking like that? James I mean?"

"Like he owns the place?" the butler said, "Yes ma'am. His sister was the same way too." The butler went to another cupboard, took out a pot, worked the pump handle again, filled it with water and then set it on the stove. "The water will be along shortly," he said walking over to the table in the kitchen, pulling out a chair and then sitting down in it. "You know, for almost fifty years, I ate dinner ever night at this table with Carl," he said with an air of nostalgia. "Oh dear me! By all means, sit down, please, please!" The butler said as he motioned apologetically to the other chairs at the the table. The Doctor and Sarah sat down to join him at the table. "Carl is Ebenezer's father," he continued,"or was I should say. I speak of him like hes still here. Never mind what you've heard, they're good people, they are. Treated me and the missus like family! Better than regular family at any rate. My own grandson John and Ebenezer used to play together when they were kids, raised them both practically we did, me and the missus. Can't say I blame him for the way he is now, watching his family pass on and such, growing up practically at a strangers house with his father nary to be found 'cept down at the docks all day. Terrible, terrible, business it was." He produced a handkerchief from a pocket and covered his nose with it to stifle a sniffle. "Good heavens, I must have picked up a bit more of a chill than I thought," he said. He then stood up and went back over to the cupboard and took out a jar of instant coffee. Retrieving a spoon from a drawer, he measured out several heaping spoonfuls into the carafe. "I hope you don't mind the instant, coffee won't keep in any such quantity as I'm the only one who drinks it, mainly anyway. Carl used to like some with dinner, but since he's passed on, I've been here taking care of the house by my lonesome. That was until Ebenezer met Carol and she convinced him to move out of his place over yonder," he said, while preparing the coffee.

"Ah! She wasn't afraid of the curse, was she?" asked The Doctor.

"Curses, pshaw, no such thing!" said the butler.

"That's a very modern attitude," said Sarah, glancing around at the antiqueness of the kitchen and that of the butler himself.

"I knows what I know and I knows I don't know everything and that's something," the butler said as he poured water from the pot on the stove into the carafe, "and just because someone don't knows something, that only means they haven't thought it up yet."

"Ha!" The Doctor said, clapping his hands together with delight, "Absolutely marvelous!"

"Yes, he's quite right," James said as he reentered the kitchen from the back stairs, "now take for instance mental illness. We know it's transferred through the generations, we just don't know how. The same way, for instance, in that we can see that a child inherits characteristics from the parent, but we just don't know the particular mechanism at work. But we will someday! We may be more modern than ever now, than say just twenty years ago years ago. But there is still more progress to be made; science is truly fascinating stuff!"

"I couldn't agree more!" said The Doctor, "and how is our host?"

"Resting comfortably," James replied, " as we should be. Would you all care to move this discussion to the drawing room?"


	15. Chapter 15

Ebenezer lay alone in his room, cowering under the threadbare duvet whilst staring intently on the candle that was placed on the bureau. the orange flame of the candle rose and fell with the draft in the gloomy room. Ebenezer thought to himself that candle flames were supposed to turn blue in the presence of evil or spirits. They were supposed to, as it were, according to the various and ghastly collections of stories he used to read as a child. A lit candle was a necessary item for one intent on inquiring into supposedly haunted places. Protection from evil was another matter. One was supposed to draw a pentagram in the dirt in the middle of a crossroads at midnight if one felt they were under any superstitious or supernatural threat, however there were no such crossroads to be found in the vicinity and for the moment, the candle remained unchanged.

The bureau sat on the same wall in which he had seen the skeletal hand of Carol emerge forth from, earlier that very evening. The wooden paneling of the wall was now laid bare since the tapestry covering it had been moved aside during The Doctor's prior investigation. Had he really seen a hand emerge from the wall or was it just madness? There was surely nothing there now, but he had heard her call his name. For the eyes to be deceived is one thing, but the ears? That was another. What manner of diabolical devices or madness could create sounds in either the air or the mind? From what unknown aether could they have emerged? The puzzle confounded Ebenezer and drew his mind into a whirlpool of confusion and thoughts as he sat shrouded in the darkness of the room.

Suddenly, a soft click broken the silence of the room. A stream of air beckoned the flame of the candle on the bureau to bow under its influence and once it complied, the room was still once more. Ebenezer, whose mind was a swirling mass of illness and self doubt, had not seen the wooden panel on the wall slide silently open. A soft voice wafted through the opening, persuading him out of his dementia.

"Ebenezer," the voice called.

The world slowly came into focus around Ebenezer and he suddenly found himself transfixed onto the void where the wall had previously been.

"Ebenezer," the voice called again.

Terrified, Ebenezer's eyes darted to the candle on the bureau. The flame had remained unchanged. Had he imagined the void in the wall? And the voice as well? Resisting the terror that had sprung forth within him, he slowly folded back the bedclothes and lowered himself to the floor. His emaciated legs, unable to bear the burden of his trembling body, had given out and left him on his hands and knees. Slowly, he inched his way across the floor to the void.

"Ebenezer," the voice called again. A brief flash of lightning lit up the room and was quickly counterpointed by a cacophony of thunder claps. The wind from the storm outside was starting to whistle across the eaves of the house.

Ebenezer froze and then lowered himself to the floor so that his trembling form would go unnoticed by spirits unseen. When stillness returned to the room and the voice could be heard no more, Ebenezer resumed his tortured advance upon the wall. Mere inches from the void, he stretched out a withered and shaking hand to probe the darkness.

There was indeed no wall, just darkness. Confused, Ebenezer ran his fingers over the floorboards and traced the grooves between them. What sort of madness could conjure entire disillusions such as this? Entire rooms that smelt of must and details such as the feel of his nightclothes upon his person? No, it cannot be madness, but some form of magik or bewitchment. It must be, for it had found him even though he was meant to escape it. He was trapped in the world of a sorcerer or daemon who was torturing him for their own pleasure. That must be it, but why? Oh, heavens why? What trespass had been committed that he must now pay the ultimate price for it by having his sanity reduced to ribbons? Determined to probe the boundaries of his dementia, Ebenezer slowly edged his way into the void.

"Ebenezer," the voice called one more, beckoning him into the abyss.

The floor changed from wood to stone as he crept into the darkness, straining to see what was ahead of him. The cold and damp from the stone was beginning seep into into Ebenezer's body, causing his joints to ache with each cautious step forward. Slowly but presently, the floor once again changed back to wood. A brief flash of lightning illuminated the room and Ebenezer was able to identify it as Carol's. Carol's room had been down the hallway from his own, locked since she was buried in the catacombs beneath the house. Ebenezer was sure of it. He had insisted upon it himself and Jenkins had assured him that it had been done. Was this more delusion? Had he passed through a demonic gateway into another part of the house? How and to what end? As he cowered on the floor of Carol's room in silent contemplation, the answer was revealed to him.

A brilliant flash of lightning transformed night into day and the ghostly apparition of Carol could be plainly seen floating outside of the window. Her pale face was obscured by her dark hair and rivulets of water. Her drenched and tattered dress hung about her like the shroud of a corpse and it thrashed about in the hissing wind. With her arms outstretched before her, "Ebenezer," she called again, "Ebenezer."

Shrieking with mortal terror, Ebenezer scrambled back through the dark expanse to his room. His mind raced with delusion. A cross, he must find a cross or some other holy symbol. A Bible, the Bible. There was one on the bookshelf in his room. He quickly remembered that it also had a gold leaf cross on the embossed leather of the cover. That would do, but oh Lord in Heaven, where was it? Ebenezer dragged himself over to the bookshelf and began clawing at the books on the shelves. It wasn't there. Ebenezer began to panic. He had only managed to search the bottom few shelves. He didn't feel that he was strong enough to pull himself upright and search the uppermost shelves.

"Ebenezer," she called again, "Ebenezer."

Finding a renewed sense of strength from sheer panic, Ebenezer began pulling himself up by grasping the shelves. Quickly he thumbed through the volumes on the middle shelves. Not finding what he sought, he strained to see the upper shelves. There, just above him, gold letters glinted in the candlelight on the spine of a book. Straining to reach it, he quickly discovered it was just out of his grasp. Fumbling for a foothold, he stepped on the bottom shelf and missed his footing. In a blind panic he grabbed for one of the upper shelves to catch himself. Grabbing hold, he fell backwards toppling the bookshelf onto himself as he hit the floor, unconscious.


	16. Chapter 16

The dim light of the drawing room seemed a strange contrast to the mood that now presided over it. Gone was the oppressive atmosphere that lingered over most of the evening's events and in it's place stood laughter and celebration.

"No, no! Try it again, Doctor!" the butler said returning to his place in front of the window in the drawing room. The butler once more resumed his stiff legged gait as he advanced across the room, moving his body in a motion reminiscent of a cross country skier.

"I'm absolutely dumbfounded!" said The Doctor.

"He's a mechanical man!" said James, laughing between sips of wine from his glass.

"Is he?" The Doctor asked, surprised, "that's not like any mechanical man I've ever met."

"Oh poo! Now you've spoiled it by answering out of turn," the butler said dejectedly.

"It's all just as well anyway," Sarah chided as she set her cup of coffee down into the saucer she was holding, "you promised not to play charades!"

"That was a very accurate representation!" The butler protested, "all the mechanical men in the comic books walked that way. Of course, now I hear they talk in the pictures and do all sorts of other things!"

"Well, I don't see why not," said James, "such an evolutionary step is completely logical. I mean for instance the things that can be done today with electricity were completely unheard of 30 years ago. We have electric starters in our automobiles now, when the automobile itself was only invented fifteen years previous. But really, all the electric starter is, is a small motor. Why, in another twenty years we'll be well on our way towards a real, talking mechanical man. In fact there's a man down in New York City that they say has some sort of device that allows him to see who is in the upstairs lobby on a screen down in the basement. With full color and motion too! I forget what his name is, but he invented a musical instrument that uses electricity and you wave your arms about in front of it or something. Marvelous stuff!"

"That all sounds a bit like TV," Sarah said.

"TV?," asked James.

"Television," replied Sarah, "The pictures on the screen. Oh, never mind anyway." "I suppose Scrabble hasn't been invented yet has it?" Sarah asked with an air of boredom. Seemingly in response to Sarah's request for excitement, a tremendous crashing sound reverberated from the upstairs with such a force that it shook the ceiling above her head. Sarah let out a small gasp as she almost let the cup and saucer drop from her hands.

"Good heavens!" The butler said, casting his gaze upwards.

"What on Earth?" James said, adding his own inquiry.

"It came from upstairs!" The Doctor announced.

"Then quickly, come!" James said departing the drawing room, heading for the stairs. The Doctor quickly followed his lead, leaving Sarah and the butler behind.

"Oh no, not again," Sarah bemoaned as she set her cup and saucer down on the side table.

"Shall we miss?" The butler said with an air of sarcasm and a slight bow as he motioned to the door.

"Regretfully," Sarah said getting up from her chair, "I don't see how you manage around here, honestly!"

Sarah and the butler quickly followed James and The Doctor's hasty flight up the stairs. On the second floor they found them trying to right the book case that had pinned Ebenezer beneath it. Sarah immediately noticed the dark chasm in the wall, even though The Doctor and James seemed oblivious to it.

"The wall," Sarah started, "well, look at it, it's gone now."

"We can't worry about that presently," said James straining to right the bookcase.

"Steady," directed The Doctor, as he and James replaced the bookcase to its previous position against the wall.

"But," Sarah said in astonishment, walking over to the hidden passageway, "you can go right through here."

Once the bookcase was removed from Ebenezer, the butler knelt down and began clearing the upset books and papers from his person.

"What a nasty bump on the head," James said, kneeling beside Ebenezer.

"Yes, well we should probably get him back onto the bed," The Doctor said as he motioned for James to assist him.

"Aww..," said Sarah, from inside the passage, "there's a whole other room down here."

"Nearly there, careful Doctor!" James said as he struggled with The Doctor to place Ebenezer onto the bed.

"Did you hear me?" asked Sarah, emerging from the passage, "there's a whole other room down there, I said."

"Another room?" asked James startled.

"Yes, through there," Sarah insisted as she pointed through the entrance of the passage.

James briskly strode through passage, gasped in astonishment and returned, visibly disturbed.

"So! We've discovered the secret, his secret!" James said as he wagged a finger at the unconscious form of Ebenezer.

"What do you mean?" asked Sarah, confused.

"Don't you see? Obviously, he's been faking everything! Or he's so deranged he's believed his own lies! The blood on the walls, claiming to have seen Carol! You said you've seen her! He must have arranged all these hoaxes by going through the concealed passage! He must have another set of keys, telling the butler to lock everything was a clever rouse!" James said as he spat out the words in a fury, "he needs to be committed! Or arrested! This proves it."

"A secret passage?" asked The Doctor as he raised his voice, "it proves everything? It proves nothing! As bereaved as you may be, accusations still need to be substantiated by facts. As you may notice, of which we have very little of at the moment."

During the commotion, no one noticed the butler slip away and return with a wash basin full of water and a cloth. Having seemingly produced it from thin air, he elbowed his way to the side of the bed and began applying the cloth to Ebenezer's forehead. Slowly, he started coming round.

"She was there, outside the window," Ebenezer stammered as he weakly pointed to the passage.

"Another lie!" insisted James.

"Well, there's nothing there now. You can believe me, I've checked," Sarah said, feigning confidence. The noise of the storm and the wind across the second story of the house was starting to make her feel uneasy.

"Through there, you say?" The Doctor asked as he bent down to listen to Ebenezer.

"The window," he managed to whisper.

"Surely you can't believe him," James protested.

"It's worth checking out at any rate," The Doctor said starting down the passage, "let's have a look, what do you think Sarah?"

"It's fine by me, I don't know what you expect to find," Sarah said nervously. She must be losing her edge she thought to herself. Fainting, running up and down stairs and then the storm outside. It was starting to take its toll upon her nerves.

Carol's room was cold and full of deep shadows and what little moonlight there was illuminated only the faintest outlines of what lay within it. The Doctor strode into the room with an air of authority as Sarah followed him timidly.

"It looks like a room. I suppose that should be patently obvious, although it doesn't look like anything has been disturbed recently," The Doctor said walking over to the door. Trying the handle and finding it locked, he knelt down and examined the floor beneath it. "Unless he's been clever enough to replace the dust underneath the door, we can assume that it hasn't been disturbed for sometime either," The Doctor said, standing up and rejoining Sarah in the center of the room.

"You expect me to believe that you can see that in the dark?" Sarah asked.

"Yes I do," said The Doctor holding a finger in the air, "and there's something else. Listen!"

"I don't hear anything," Sarah said searching for anything amiss in the din of the storm outside.

"It's a sort of flapping sound," The Doctor said.

"Wait," Sarah said, resuming her search, "I can hear it! There's something else too, a jangling sound!"

"Very good Sarah!" The Doctor said, "now what do you think it could be?"

"A ghost and his chains," Sarah said as she laughed nervously.

"Perhaps!" The Doctor said, humoring her, "but what else do you hear?" The Doctor paused and then he became gravely serious and his voice a low whisper, "we're not alone."

"What?" Sarah asked in shock as she frantically glanced about the room.

"Shh!" The Doctor commanded her.

Then suddenly, like the approaching headlights of a car in the dark, a short series of thumping sounds could be heard far above them on the roof. They stopped abruptly and were followed by a heavy clinking and scraping sound that caused the hair on the back of Sarah's neck to stand. Then silence prevailed once more.

"What do you think that could have been?" Sarah hissed.

"Isn't it obvious?" The Doctor asked rhetorically, "there's someone up there, above us."

"Who, who's up there?" Sarah asked.

The noise came again. This time in the form of someone or something fumbling or flopping about on the roof above.

Sarah began to ask the Doctor again what he thought the noise could be, but before she was able to ask, the window exploded into the room with a deafening sound. The Doctor instinctively grabbed the the lapel of his coat with his left hand and pulled it up to cover his face while pushing Sarah behind him with his right as a thousand points of glass sprayed onto them. Sarah let out a startled gasp and dropped to her knees behind The Doctor, covering her face with her hands. When the cacophony had subsided, Sarah looked up at the window and screamed. The windows was now filled with the silhouette of a man hanging by a chain around his neck instead of glass.


	17. Chapter 17

"I'm sorry I couldn't have helped you more sir," the butler said to The Doctor, who was clutching the sheet that covered the body of James Candage in his hand. The Doctor grimaced briefly and then replaced it, leaving the body where it lay on the floor, after he and Sarah struggled to undo the chains that it hung from outside the window.

"Oh, it's all right, I shouldn't worry about it if I were you," The Doctor said, his voice becoming somber. He then put his hands in his trouser pockets and hung his head as if to accentuate the change in his mood.

"Ugh! I even screamed too!" Sarah said remorsefully, "that's perfect! It was the only thing missing from all of this, this, macabre kookiness!"

"Well, at least this time, the butler didn't do it, eh?" said The Doctor woefully.

"Ha! No, sir, I did not," said the butler, "good riddance to bad rubbish."

"But, I don't understand, how or why?" Sarah asked, confused.

"Oh, I imagine it was your typical, old fashioned, run of the mill, swindle or confidence game," said The Doctor, "I supposed he intended to drive poor Ebenezer mad and then claim either the power of attorney or his inheritance, depending on how effective his scheme proved to be. "

"But, but, that woman down there, she's dead! I saw her walking around outside! And Ebenezer said he saw her several times!" Sarah protested.

"Well, the chain that unfortunately lead to his ultimate demise is part of some sort of rigging system attached to the roof." The Doctor explained, "the flapping sound that we both heard was from a length of white cloth that had gotten tangled up in the chain. While we were in here, James must have heard the sound as well and went up to the roof to secure it, lest his secret be revealed. It would be quite reasonable to assume that he has some sort of mannequin secreted away in another hidden passage or cupboard."

"But she looked so real," Sarah marveled aloud, "but what about the blood on the wall? You said it was real blood!"

"It was!" chimed in the butler, "I'm surprised Doctor, that you hadn't figured that out sooner! You were practically standing in it in the cellar."

"Ah yes! The chicken!" The Doctor said in surprise, "well if you knew, why didn't you say something?"

"I suppose I just hadn't thought of it until this moment. It was all rubbish to me, sir. But he could have easily used the back staircase to run down and fetch it out of the cellar," the butler said.

"Well then, perhaps we had better go rouse our host and tell him the good news!," the Doctor said cheerily, his mood changing once more.

"What good news?" Sarah asked in surprise.

"That he isn't insane and that all is more or less well," said The Doctor as he began walking back towards Ebenezer's bedroom.

Sarah and the butler quickly followed The Doctor down the short expanse of the passage and found him patting Ebenezer's hand as he lay on the bed.

"Ah my good fellow, would you do us the honor and come round? Fortunately, I've been able to return a most positive prognosis and declared you cured!" said The Doctor

"Cured?" moaned Ebenezer quizzically from the bed, "from what?"

"Everything! You're not insane at all, it was merely an elaborate ruse to deprive you of your sanity and liberate you from worldly possessions. However, it was a scheme that was perpetrated by your dear, late, brother in law, who unfortunately got a bit too entangled in his web of deceit for his own good," said The Doctor.

"But the curse! The curse," Ebenezer said as his voice trailed off to a whisper.

"Pshaw! Mercury poisoning! Otherwise known as mad hatter's disease. You know your family did you a good turn by sending you away from here. There may not have been a curse, but they saved you just the same," said The Doctor.

"Mercury poisoning? But how?" Sarah asked.

"Mercuric sulfide! The catacombs below here are riddled with veins of it. That's something I think is rather unique to your part of the country," The Doctor said, addressing Ebenezer. "It's been leaching into your water supply for hundreds of years! You stop using that well of yours and find yourself a new water supply and you'll be good as new in no time. That, fresh air and plenty of sunshine! Exercise would do you well too. You should probably get a dog and take long strolls along the coast. I've always fancied myself a dog," he said blissfully. "You'll see that he starts eating good, square meals won't you?," he asked the butler, to which he responded with a simple nod. "Good!" said The Doctor, "on that regimen, you should be back to young man you were before all this started!"

"Young man?" Sarah asked, feeling like she was beginning to sound like a broken record.

"Indeed!" said The Doctor as he placed his hand on Ebenezer's cheek to examine his face, "he can't be more than thirty, thirty one at the most?" The Doctor looked up at the butler for confirmation, who gave his usual nod. "Yes, never underestimate the affects of stress upon the human body. Now let me ask you, did James have any other possessions in the house? Anything that may shed a light on how this all transpired?"

"Not much I'm afraid," the butler said, "having only been here four days, almost all of his possessions are where they were when they were delivered, in the drawing room. Although he does have a small shaving kit and suitcase in the bedroom down the hall."

"Hmm, perhaps we should go back down there and give them a proper go over," wondered The Doctor, aloud.

"If you wish, although of course, I would prefer to stay with Mr. Osgood," said the butler.

"Good thinking!" The Doctor said as he patted the butler on the shoulder. He then wound his scarf around his neck and said, as he exited the room, "well then, come along Sarah."

"There's extra candles in the sideboard in the dining room, should you be needing them," the butler called after them as they disappeared down the hall.

The Doctor and Sarah retraced the now familiar path to the downstairs drawing room. Upon entering it and discovering that the candle inside of it had burned down dangerously low, Sarah set out to retrieve the candles from the dining room while The Doctor set to poking about the contents of the desk. When she returned, he was in the middle of opening and closing all the little drawers in the hutch of the roll top desk.

"It looks like nothing has changed since we last were down here," Sarah said as she lit one of the candles that she had brought in, from the dying one on the table, "he made it sound like there was a whole room full of stuff down here."

"Well, there's just this leather case under the desk here that presumably held all of his samples and paperwork," The Doctor said as he sat down in the desk chair. "We must be missing something, unless..." The Doctor said as he ran his fingers over the pigeon holes that made up the center of the hutch. Finding the center of them, he grasped them tightly and pulled. "Ah ha!" he exclaimed, as he pulled out the center row of pigeon holes. Turning them around in his hand, it was plain to see that there was a compartment built into the back that held a sheaf of letters.

"How did you know that would be there?" asked Sarah.

"The secret compartment?" responded The Doctor, "all the desks from this time had them. They were sort of a novelty like the picture safes from the Victorian era. Everybody had them, so everyone naturally knew about them. So obviously, they would make a perfect hiding spot for something if you nothing to hide."

"Pfft," Sarah said to rebuff The Doctor's bout of linguistic gymnastics, "well, what do they say then?"

"I don't know," The Doctor said, removing the sheaf from the compartment. He and Sarah then spent the better part of an hour retracing Jame's scheme through his letters to Carol. Through them, they read exchanges between the two as they updated each other on their plot to drive Ebenezer sick with madness. Eventually, Carol began to have doubts about the plan in spite of Jame's stern insistence.

"But see, right up until the end Carol remains quite lucid," said Sarah leafing through the papers. "But then, over here," she said as she walked over to the desk, "in the ones I was reading earlier, she loses it an starts to go mad herself, quite abruptly".

Sarah was just about to pick up the letters on the desk when a sudden thought occurred to The Doctor. "Wait!" he hissed, as his hand shot out like a snake and grabbed Sarah's wrist. Gently letting her go, he then rooted around on the desk until he found a pair of tweezers. Using them, he picked up one of the letters carefully and carried it over to the candle on the table. He then held it above the flame, so that only the heat would touch it. After a few moments, several dark, oval spots began to appear along the edges.

"Well that looks like where someone would have held the paper," Sarah said, "where I held it! What are those?"

"My guess is that it's the neurotoxin from the vial," The Doctor said, "the same one you were holding. But you see, you didn't open it. The toxin was applied to the letter that you picked up and it was absorbed through your skin."

"And that's why my fingers turned black when I was holding the teacup!" Sarah said in astonishment, "Carol read those letters too! He must have slowly poisoned her, letter by letter after their disagreement!"

"Yes and you're lucky you only received a small dose," The Doctor said.

The door to the drawing room was then opened by the butler, who then proceeded to announce the presence of Ebenezer. After a moment, Ebenezer appeared in the doorway, dressed in his suit once more. He struggled to enter the room unassisted, but he was determined and driven to recoup from the events that drained him of his vitality. Stiffly walking to one of the wing back chairs, he sat down with a noticeable sigh of relief. The Doctor, Ebenezer and the butler then began a discussion in ernest about what he and Sarah had discovered.

"So you see, I'm sure that you'll have more than enough evidence here to soundly present your case," said The Doctor, optimistically, "and any qualified geologist can vouch for the deposits and put to rest any claims to mental unwellness you family may have had."

"Yes, well, then I guess that's the end of this adventure," Ebenezer said with a glimmer, "I don't know how to repay you Doctor."

"Well, the standard fee will apply of course, but you can pay that at your convenience," The Doctor said. Sarah crossed her arms and shot The Doctor a disapproving glance. "Well, then let's call this one on the house shall we?" The Doctor added, "is there anything else I can do for you?"

Ebenezer sat and thought for a moment, "well, there is one thing."

.

.

The Doctor, Sarah, Ebenezer and the butler looked down upon the body of Carol in her coffin, one last time. Ebenezer took a deep breath, let it out and then closed the lid.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" The Doctor asked.

"Wouldn't it be healthy to confront my fears and have some closure?" Ebenezer asked.

"I suppose that's sound reasoning," The Doctor replied.

Ebenezer then bent down and picked up a hammer and several nails from the tool kit he brought. Using them, he set about nailing the lid of the coffin shut, for good. When finished, he let out a sigh and then said, "well, there's no use dwelling on the past. Perhaps now, everything can be finally laid to rest and we can begin to look towards the future."

"Yes, but well, don't forget to enjoy the gift of the present either," The Doctor said.

"That too, for which I'm thankful for you having given it to me," Ebenezer said, his voice still a whisper but tempered by resolve. "We should probably make our way back up now," he said, stifling a cough.

"Thank goodness," Sarah said as she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, "I hope never to ever have to come down here again."

"I would be all the more happy to grant you your wish," Ebenezer said as he took a key from his pocket. Once the four of them had filed out of the tomb and past the gate, Ebenezer stopped to take one last look. After a moment and seemingly satisfied, he swung the gate shut, locked it and then ascended the stairs into the house.

.

.

"Are you sure you won't stay Doctor?" the butler asked from the doorway of the mansion.

"I'm afraid not, the storm looks like it's clearing. I'm sure we can find our way back to our car and have the trouble sorted out in no time," The Doctor said, looking up at the sky.

"Well, we appreciate the offer, but we were on our way for a holiday after this stop," Sarah said.

"Yes, we were and indeed we do. I regret that we couldn't have met under better circumstances," The Doctor said.

"Perhaps on the way back then," Ebenezer said.

"Indeed!" said The Doctor, enthusiastically.

"Take care and I hope you get well soon!" Sarah said.

"I'll see to it ma'am," the butler said dutifully.

"Goodbye then!" Sarah called waving as she and The Doctor departed down the driveway. Ebenezer and the butler waved to her in return. Once the mansion had been left behind them and the brilliant white interior of the TARDIS greeted them, Sarah's thoughts turned back towards their vacation.

"I think Florida would be nice," she said.

"Florida!," The Doctor asked.

"Yes, I'm tired of freeze dried orange juice. You know you could update the recipe in the mainframe computer and get the hard copy scanner working again as there are some new patterns I'd like to try out. I haven't had anything new to wear in ages.." Sarah said as her voiced trailed off as the TARDIS dematerialized with a familiar groan.

.

.

The darkness of the catacombs was eternal and was even more so inside the coffin where Carol lay motionless. As time drifted by, the effects of the neurotoxin that James had so cleverly used to poison Carol with, began to wear off. As she slowly regained consciousness, she became aware of her predicament and the role she had unwittingly played in James scheme. The slow poisoning with the psychoactive drug that Carol had received had forced her into a vegetative, death like state that the natives of the Caribbean islands would called a zombie. Inert and manipulated without a will of her own, she had been an unwilling participant in the torture of Ebenezer Osgood. However, she originally conspired with her brother, who now lay dead upon the floor of her room upstairs, and withdrew upon a falling out over what to do with Ebenezer's estate when they succeeded with their plot. Unknowingly resigned to the same fate and seething with anger, she clawed and pounded on the lid of the coffin for her brother to let her out. However, upstairs in the house far above, life was beginning to return to normal and her screams went unnoticed.


End file.
